I recently closed an escrow with tenants that had been renting the home for years. They were getting married the week before we listed the house. His wife was in the process of getting her citizenship and here they were with 30 days to find a place to move their life, find a landlord that would accept 2 big dogs and figure out how the change in residency would affect the citizenship process.
They didn’t have the money to come up with a new deposit, while they waited for a partial return of theirs, particularly with 30 days notice. The rental market is really competitive, so they were frantically looking for something, anything in their price range with the hope of keeping their kids in the same schools. My heart went out to them, just as it does all of the people I hear from in a similar situation.
The buyer in this transaction had no money down, except an earnest money deposit – $0! In fact, they received enough money in grants and closing credits they were able to replace the flooring and have a couple upgrades without coming out of pocket anything.
Buying a home (with a fixed rate mortgage) gives you payment security for the life of that loan. When you own, you don’t have to worry that rents are rising year over year, changing your payment by hundreds of dollars every month. If you spend $1,500 a month in rent, you’ve just paid someone else $18,000 toward their mortgage, by the end of the year.
There are so many misconceptions about buying a home, such as needing 20% down, or having to have perfect credit. There are so many programs out there to get you in with little to no money down and you certainly don’t need perfect credit.
I love this buy vs rent estimator (put out by MBS Highway) that shows how owning a home can substantially benefit you.
Let’s find a way for you to buy!!
Christy Klingler. Realtor
